Santa Maria Maggiore in Rom, around 1810

CommentaryJoseph Anton Koch also chose to focus on the details of the garden in his painting of ›Santa Maria Maggiore in Rom‹ (Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome). While the monumental architecture of the Early Christian church of the title certainly looms large on the hilltop in the background, Koch’s real interest is in the Baroque gardens of the former Villa Negroni, which he populates with gardeners, a lute-playing bard and his amour, both clad in archaic dress, and various other figures. The painting is cleverly divided into two sections: the shaded gardens in the foreground and the sunlit church in the background. The celestial and the earthly thus, occupy the same canvas—the former watching protectively over the latter.

Joseph Anton Koch also chose to focus on the details of the garden in his painting of ›Santa Maria Maggiore in Rom‹ (Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome). While the monumental architecture of the Early Christian church of the title certainly looms large on the hilltop in the background, Koch’s real interest is in the Baroque gardens of the former Villa Negroni, which he populates with gardeners, a lute-playing bard and his amour, both clad in archaic dress, and various other figures. The painting is cleverly divided into two sections: the shaded gardens in the foreground and the sunlit church in the background. The celestial and the earthly thus, occupy the same canvas—the former watching protectively over the latter.